What Are Noun Clauses?
(with Examples)
A noun clause is a clause that plays the role of a noun. For example (noun clauses shaded):
I like what I see.
I know that the tide is turning.
I've met the man who won the lottery.
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
Compare the three examples above to these:
I like cakes.
I know London.
I've met Madonna.
The words in bold are all nouns. This shows that shaded clauses in the first three examples are
functioning as nouns, making them noun clauses.
Like any noun, a noun clause can be a subject, an object, or a complement.
In a sentence, a noun clause will be a dependent clause. In other words, a noun clause does not
stand alone as a complete thought.
Examples of Noun Clauses
Here are some examples of noun clauses:
A person who trusts no one can't be trusted. (Jerome Blattner)
(This noun clause is the subject of the sentence.)
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
That he believes his own story is remarkable. (Jerome Blattner)
(This noun clause is the subject of the sentence. Be aware that starting a sentence with a
noun clause starting That is acceptable, but it grates on lots of people's ears. As a result,
many writers prefer to precede it with "The fact…".)
Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying. (Fran Lebowitz)
(This noun clause is the direct object of ask.)
He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes. (James Thurber, 1894-1961)
(This noun clause is the direct object of know.)
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man. (H L
Mencken, 1880-1956)
(This noun clause is the direct object of believe.)
I never know how much of what I say is true. (Bette Midler)
(This noun clause is an object of a preposition.)
Man is what he eats. (Ludwig Feuerbach)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else. (Woody Allen)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)
An economist is a man who states the obvious in terms of the incomprehensible. (Alfred
A Knopf)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
Adverb Clauses
Here are some examples of adverb clauses, which are underlined:
Whether you like it or not, you have to go to bed now.
She likes the red car more than her husband does.
If you pay your bills, you will have a good credit score.
Unless you run fast, you will miss the bus.
So that she would have a tan for her vacation, she went to a tanning salon.
Marty kept his schedule open, in case of emergencies.
Because he loved her, he didn’t believe she had an affair.
Once they saw the car coming, the birds flew away from the street.
Although she has a business degree, she is working as a retail clerk.
You must keep practicing the etude until you get it right.
In order to have six-pack abs, he works out at the gym.
As we bought the tickets, the overture was beginning.
Before we go on vacation, we must make reservations.
Give us a call when you get back from your trip.
I won’t allow you to see that movie, even though you are old enough.
We’ll go to the bar where they asked us to wait.
Since I'll be working late, I’ll eat downtown.
Wherever there is a beach, sun worshippers will gather.
While others saw the glass half empty, Barry saw it half full.
The fireworks show will start after the sun goes down.
That is the last of the soda, as far as I know.
Whenever you promise to so something, you need to keep it.
Now that everyone has left the party, we need to start cleaning.
No matter how many times I try to stop, I just can’t give up chocolate.
Insofar as it can be determined, this is the best car on the market.
We can get some new clothes provided the store is open this late.
The cat made herself at home in the apartment as if she had always lived there.
Frank ran the race as though his life depended on it.
The people of Italy and Greece are similar in that they live near the Mediterranean Sea.
He remembered to wear his jacket lest he catch a cold.
We can swim in the pool as soon as we put on plenty of sunscreen.
Even if everyone around you is losing their heads, you need to remain calm.
Supposing your son took the car without permission, what would your punishment be?
Delaware was the first state that signed the Constitution.
Inasmuch as I would like to recommend you for the position, I just can’t do it.
I never knew how wonderful life could be till I met you.
There may come a time when I would do this, though I can’t imagine when that would
be.
Adjective Clauses In Action
Adjective clauses do not change the basic meaning of the sentence. In some cases, when they
provide more information into a sentence, they need to be set off with commas.
Here are several examples of sentences with the adjective clauses underlined:
Pizza,which most people love, is not very healthy.
The peoplewhose names are on the listwill go to camp.
Grandpa remembers the old dayswhen there was no television.
Fruitthat is grown organicallyis expensive.
Studentswho are intelligentget good grades.
Eco-friendly carsthat run on electricitysave gas.
I know someonewhose father served in World War II.
Making noise when he eats is the main reasonwhy Sue does not like to eat with her
brother.
The kidswho were called firstwill have the best chance of getting a seat.
Running a marathon,a race of twenty-six miles, takes a lot of training.
I enjoy telling people about Janet Evanovichwhose latest book was fantastic.
The peoplewaiting all night outside the Apple storeare trying to purchase a new iPhone.
"Hewho can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in aweis as good as dead." - Albert
Einstein
“Thosewho do not complainare never pitied.” - Jane Austen
“People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thoughtwhich they
avoid.” - Søren Kierkegaard
“Never go to a doctorwhose office plants have died.” - Erma Bombeck
Turning Adjective Clauses into Phrases
An adjective clause with a subject pronoun - such as which, that or who - can also be shortened
into a phrase.
You can shorten an adjective clause in two ways:
1. Omit the subject pronoun and verb.
2. Omit the subject pronoun and change the verb to the form ending in "ing."
Here are some examples of how to create an adjective phrase:
Adjective Clause: The books, which are lost, are not really necessary.
Adjective Phrase: The books lost are not really necessary.
Adjective Clause: The girl who is running is my best friend.
Adjective Phrase: The girl running is my best friend.
Adjective Clause: His share of the money, which consists of $100,000, was given to him
on Monday.
Adjective Phrase: His share of the money, consisting of $100,000, was given to him on
Monday.
Adjective Clause: Something that smells bad may be rotten.
Adjective Phrase: Something smelling bad may be rotten.
Marker Detail Contoh Kalimat Noun Clause
Question word: The class listened to what the teacher said.
what(ever), what (time, kind, (Seluruh kelas mendengarkan apa yang guru
day, etc), katakan.)
who(ever), The kitten followed wherever the woman went.
whose, (Anak kucing mengikuti kemanapun wanita itu
Question
whom(ever), pergi.)
Word
which(ever),
where(ever), Many people imagine how many time the man
when(ever), was failed before success.
how (long, far, many times, old, (Banyak orang membayangkan berapa kali pria
etc) itu gagal sebelum sukses.)
Where does Andy live?
(Dimana Andy tinggal?)
I wonder if he lives in West Jakarta.
(Saya pikir dia tinggal di Jakarta Barat.)
Is Andy live on Dewi Sartika Street?
(Apakah Andy tinggal di jalan Dewi Sartika?)
biasanya digunakan untuk
I don’t know if he live on Dewi Sartika Street or
kalimat jawaban dari pertanyaan
if atau not.
yes-no question atau bentuk
whether atau
reported speech dari pertanyaan
tersebut
I don’t know whether or not he lives on Dewi
Sartika street.
(Saya tidak tahu jika dia tinggal di jalan Sartika
atau tidak.)
She wanted to know if he lived on Dewi Sartika
street. [indirect speech dari yes-no question]
biasanya that-clause untuk I think that the group will arrive in an hour.
mental activity. Berikut daftar (Saya pikir rombongan itu akan tiba dalam satu
verb pada main clause yang jam.)
biasanya diikuti that-
that
clause:assume, believe, discover, Many people proved that the man was a big liar.
dream, guess, hear, hope, know, (Banyak orang membuktikan bahwa pria itu
learn, notice, predict, prove, pembohong besar.)
realize, suppose, suspect, think
Fungsi Noun Clause
Berikut adalah contoh kalimat dari setiap fungsi noun clause.
Fungsi Contoh Kalimat Noun Clause
What she cooked was delicious.
(Apa yang dia masak lezat.)
Subject of a Verb
That today is his birthday is not right.
(Bahwa hari ini ulang tahunnya tidak benar.)
The fact is that she is smart and dilligent.
(Faktanya dia cerdas dan rajin.)
Subject complement
A teacher must be whoever allows students to ask.
(Seorang guru harus yang membiarkan siswa untuk bertanya.)
Diana believes that her life will be happier.
(Diana percaya hidupnya akan lebih bahagia.)
Object of a Verb
I want to know how Einstein thought.
(Saya ingin tahu bagaimana Einstein berpikir.)
The girl comes from where many people there live in poverty.
(Anak berasal dari tempat dimana orang-orang hidup dalam
Object of a preposition kemiskinan.)
He will attend the party with whichever fits to his body.
(Dia akan menghadiri pesta tsb dengan apapun yang cocok dibadannya.)
We were worried that she couldn’t recover from divorce.
Adjective Complement
(Kita khawatir dia tidak dapat membaik dari perceraian.)
Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex
Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and lively. Too
many simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature while too many long
sentences will be difficult to read and hard to understand.
This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with many simple
examples. The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL learner to identify sentence
basics including identification of sentences in the short quizzes that follow. After that, it will be
possible to analyze more complex sentence varieties.
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it
expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and
verbs are in green.
1. Some students like to study in the mornings.
2. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
3. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.
The three examples above are all simple sentences. Note that sentence 2 contains a compound
subject, and sentence 3 contains a compound verb. Simple sentences, therefore, contain a subject
and verb and express a complete thought, but they can also contain compound subjects or verbs.
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The
coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of
the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always
preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in
green, and the coordinators and the commas that precede them are in red.
1. I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English.
2. Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping.
3. Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.
The above three sentences are compound sentences. Each sentence contains two independent
clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it. Note how the conscious
use of coordinators can change the meaningof the sentences. Sentences 2 and 3, for example, are
identical except for the coordinators. In sentence 2, which action occurred first? Obviously,
"Alejandro played football" first, and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping." In sentence 3,
"Maria went shopping" first. In sentence 3, "Alejandro played football" because, possibly, he
didn't have anything else to do, for or because "Maria went shopping." How can the use of other
coordinators change the relationship between the two clauses? What implications would the use
of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the sentence?
Complex Sentence
A True Story
Some students believe it is possible to identify simple, compound, and complex sentences by
looking at the complexity of the ideas in a sentence. Is the idea in the sentence simple, or is it
complex? Does one idea in a sentence make it simple? Do two ideas make it compound?
However, sentence identification does not work that way.
Please take the time to identify the subjects and verbs in a sentence. Then identify coordinators
and subordinators when they exist. With these two steps, sentence identification not only
becomes easy, but it also provides the foundation for understanding and writing all other kinds of
more complicated sentences.
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A
complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when
(and many others) or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following complex
sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and their commas
(when required) are in red.
1. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last
page.
2. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.
3. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
4. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies
5. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.
When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences 1 and 4, a comma is
required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence
with subordinators in the middle as in sentences 2, 3, and 5, no comma is required. If a comma is
placed before the subordinators in sentences 2, 3, and 5, it is wrong.
Note that sentences 4 and 5 are the same except sentence 4 begins with the dependent clause
which is followed by a comma, and sentence 5 begins with the independent clause which
contains no comma. The comma after the dependent clause in sentence 4 is required, and
experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight pause there. In sentence 5, however,
there will be no pause when the independent clause begins the sentence.
Complex Sentences / Adjective Clauses
Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also complex because
they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. The subjects, verbs, and
subordinators are marked the same as in the previous sentences, and in these sentences, the
independent clauses are also underlined.
1. The woman who called my mom sells cosmetics.
2. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.
3. The house which Abraham Lincoln was born in is still standing.
4. The town where I grew up is in the United States.
Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to know that
sentences containing adjective clauses are complex.
Conclusion and Quizzes
Are you sure you now know the differences between simple,
compound, and complex sentences? Click QUICK QUIZ (will
open in new window) to find out. This first quiz is just six
sentences. The key is to look for the subjects and verbs first.
After taking the quiz, you will see your score, and you will also
have an opportunity to LISTEN TO THE AUDIO (four
minutes) explaining why the sentences are simple, compound, or
complex.
For extra practice, the Helen Keller Quiz (will open in new window) contains ten quiz questions,
and The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen quiz (will open in new window) contains 29
questions. With the skill to identify and write good simple, compound, and complex sentences,
you will have the flexibility to (1) convey your ideas precisely and (2) entertain with sentence
variety at the same time! Good luck with these exercises!
Finally, if you have not already done so, download the Transitions and Connectors Worksheet to
help identify simple, compound, and complex sentences.